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ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

A different viewpoint

An Ooty you've never seen before, writes SUBHA J RAO

PHOTOS: K. ANANTHAN

REVEL IN THE SILENCE Wood House

After a whole day spent wearily seeking out islands of calm in vehicle-choked Udhagamandalam, the photographer and I hit paydirt, courtesy a friend who insists on taking us on a tour of a different Ooty.

He introduces us to a place that is the exclusive preserve of its genteel residents who zealously try to protect some of its existing treasures. Like Wood House, said to be one of the earliest houses built by the British in the Nilgiris.

We drive up the winding, pothole-ridden road to Marlimund Lake, pass by what was once called Suicide Point. It's a lake where people threw themselves into for everything, from failure in exams to unrequited love, and drive through dense, cool jungle.

Warning: This jungle still has animals. So, tread with care.

After a 20-minute drive, we reach Wood House. Set amid a grove, the air here is heavy with the scent of eucalyptus. Pine cones lie undisturbed on the ground and an ungainly bush throws up sprightly yellow flowers. Absolute still prevails but for the sound of leaves being crushed underfoot.

Originally a stone and wood structure, this two-room house with a stone chimney used to be the starting point of most cross-country races in the hill station. Old timers recall having jogged up to this point as kids as part of their daily evening routine.

Now, there is little wood left of the original building, barring the garish green pillars and elongated white owls standing as torchbearers. The wooden doors and windows have been prised off to make way for metal look-alikes, again painted green. The house sits on a flattened ground atop a hill and you can take in the sights of the hill station from here. Probably why, some years ago, officials decided this place must be made accessible to the burgeoning tourist population. They constructed a viewpoint here.

A modern malaise

And, the tourists lost little time to show how callous they can be. Modern-day love stories have been etched on the stone foundation.

Plastic bottles, packets of cigarettes and gutka litter the place.

Behind the new windows, wooden shards from the original construction stand, testimony to a better existence. Though it is in a bad condition, the viewpoint set on a ledge offers you a view of Ooty like never before. The ledge overlooks the Raj Bhavan and parts of the famous Botanical Garden. From here, you can see the Race Course snaking its way in the middle of the city. Sadly, you can also stand mute witness to the few remaining hills being levelled to make way for the construction boom that has hit the Nilgiris with a vengeance. Once you have had your fill of the scenery, sit on the moss-covered steps and revel in the silence.

How to go

From Ooty, drive up the Marlimund Lake road till you reach the road leading to Snowdon peak. Take the road forking to the Raj Bhavan viewpoint.

You could also walk up to the house from the Botanical Gardens. Or, take the road going to Dodabetta or Kotagiri, turn left at Dodabetta junction and drive for about two km through an excuse of a road. Wood House is near the Horticultural Research Station.

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